


S4-L3M

by respoftw



Series: Tumblr Prompts - McShep edition [7]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Angst, Hanging, Happy Ending, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-16
Updated: 2016-07-16
Packaged: 2018-07-24 09:28:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7503066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/respoftw/pseuds/respoftw
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Here and now, as he stood on a rickety wooden docket with his hands bound behind him and a jury of hysterical villagers in front of him, he was beginning to sympathise with the plight of those twenty souls that had lost their life in Salem.</p>
            </blockquote>





	S4-L3M

**Author's Note:**

> @claralaarc asked for a witch hunt. (It got melodramatic and angsty, sorry)

Rodney had first read 'The Crucible' back when he was a far too young undergrad - unable to get out of at least some of his required gen ed courses. At the time, he’d viewed it purely under the guise of his essay title - “The Crucible as an Allegorical Deconstruction of McCarthyism”. A bit run-of-the mill and humdrum, yes, but he was there to study physics, not to waste his time on something so irrelevant as American literature.

Here and now, as he stood on a rickety wooden docket with his hands bound behind him and a jury of hysterical villagers in front of him, he was beginning to sympathise with the plight of those twenty souls that had lost their life in Salem.

It was ridiculous, really. Of all the things that he’d thought would lead to his untimely end - citrus, saying the wrong thing to the wrong person at the wrong time, stress-induced heart attack, Wraith or screwy Ancient device being the front runners - being sent to the gallows for witchcraft was not one of them.

It could be worse, he thinks. Being pressed to death like Corey Giles had been would be worse. Being burned at the stake would be worse. John being up here instead of him would be worse.

Rodney held his head a little higher. At least John wasn’t here with him.

He would have been. If it hadn’t been for the light concussion that his morning spar with Ronon had left him with, John would have accompanied him on this off world visit and they’d both be up here standing trial. Or, maybe they’d have managed to escape and it would be another near escape to panic over at 3am and laugh over the rest of the time. He shook himself. No, there was no point dwelling on what might have been. Besides, it was much more likely that they would both have ended up here; their luck had to run out at some point after all.

It was supposed to be a cake walk. Almost literally. Teyla had done trades with this planet before and part of the reason that Rodney had been convinced to go on another trading mission - something he normally vociferously complained was below his station as Head of Science and Research - was the sweet, syrupy cakes that Teyla had assured him were a local delicacy. So secure were they in how easy the mission would be, even Woolsey had allowed Teyla and Rodney to go on their own while John played Mario Kart in a hospital bed and Ronon sat through yet another health & safety lecture.

He couldn’t really blame Teyla for not mentioning the fact that the locals also treated any sign of the ATA gene as sorcery and reacted about as well as a bunch of puritanical asshats back in Massachusetts had about it.

He just hoped that she had made it back to Atlantis. Not because he was holding out much hope for a rescue; the village was a two hour walk from the ‘gate, surrounded by a dense forest that no jumper - not even one piloted by John Sheppard - could fly through. There was plenty Rodney would say about the justice system of what he had dubbed in his head as New Salem, but even he had to marvel at the swiftness of it.

Teyla would barely have had time to make it back to the 'gate and here he was, already tried and convicted and about to be marched towards the gallows.

At least he was outside. Wide open space. He wondered if his body would be left on display for his friends to find. He hoped that Keller would have the backbone to stop John from coming, from having to see - - no, John would be here. Never leave a man behind; that was the John Sheppard way.

Rodney felt something blunt nudge him in the back. He snapped out of his regrets to find that it was time to die. He’s grateful at least that they don’t expect him to walk towards the noose on his own steam; he’s not sure that his legs could manage that and he can’t bear for word of how he had to be carried towards his death like a coward reaching John. Maybe it was crazy, but he wanted to give John the comfort of knowing that he at least faced the end with courage, with dignity. Like John would.

The gripping force on his arm ensures that he doesn’t stumble as he climbs up on to the horse drawn cart that will take him to the gallows and he almost laughs as a brief flash of outrage at the thought of the bruises that will be left behind crosses his mind. Really, a bruised upper arm is the least of his worries right now.

He’s relieved that the crowd don’t throw rotten fruit or vegetables at him. They don’t even jeer, standing silent and fearful instead. Rodney wants to rally and rail at them, he wants to scream that if he was really some all powerful sorcerer come to kill them all then surely he’d have enough power to manoeuvre himself out of this but none of that fits in with his vow to die with honour.

Honour feels overrated as they reach the gallows. He’d expected a standard drop hanging rather than the suspension method that the villagers had in place. Rodney swallowed against the panic. He knew more than enough about physics to know that this meant that he wouldn’t likely be lucky enough to die from a broken neck. God, he was going to choke to death while he writhed in mid air like a worm on a hook. He tries to distract himself by casting an eye over the set up. If he takes its intended use and his imminent death out of the equation, it’s an impressive feat of engineering that he would have thought was beyond these people.

He fights to the urge to laugh again as he feels stupidly pleased by the fact that his killers aren’t completely dumb after all.

The rope is thick and scratchy against his neck.

As the slip knot is tightened, Rodney loses all pretence of calm. What the hell was he thinking? Facing his death like a man, with courage? Like John would? John Sheppard was many things - including crazy enough to ride a nuke into certain death for the greater good but he would never let himself get taken out like this. Oh God, he’s going to be so furious that Rodney didn’t fight this. Oh God, he - - -

The ground is pulled away from him as the rope snaps tight.

The compression of the noose is agonising, much more so than Rodney ever would have thought. He twists and turns in the air frantically, tears leaking from his eyes, until the pressure against his carotid artery slows his struggles to weak, ineffectual kicks.

John is the last thing on his mind as the world around him turns to black spots. He spares a thought for Jeannie and for Radek, Carson, Ronon, Teyla but in the end, there’s only John. It had always been John.

His body starts to still and in that last moment, Rodney can almost hear him.

It’s not the worst way to go.

* * *

Later, Rodney will wish he could have seen John riding into the crowd on a white horse with his weapon drawn. He apologises to Rodney later for the bullet that flies through the rope that was stealing his breath away and lands him with two broken legs after falling twenty feet to the ground.

Rodney makes no bones about telling him that’s the stupidest thing that anyone has ever apologised for and to get him some more damn ice cream for his throat.

But in those moments after it happened, as he gulped in the sweet, sweet air after waking up with his head in John’s laps, the cries of fear and warning shots of P90s fill the air, Rodney wants for nothing.

John came for him.

Of course he did. Rodney should never have doubted him. After all, they are only what they always were and what they were could never be broken by something as ridiculous as a witch hunt.

**Author's Note:**

> Hit me up on [tumblr](http://buffycuddlespigs.tumblr.com)


End file.
